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Using the LabOne Programming Interfaces

LabOne provides Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) for MATLAB, LabVIEW, Python, C, and .NET. These APIs require installation on the PC where they will be used as described in the following. The necessary installers are available on the Zurich Instruments download page, www.zhinst.com/downloads.

Figure 1: LabOne APIs installed on separate PC

The LabOne APIs communicate directly with the Data Server running on the MFIA Instrument via IP port 8004.

The device address can be <instrument-serial>, mf-<instrument-serial>, mf-<instrument-serial>.<domain>, or <IP address>. If the address is not fully qualified, means domain name is not added, the API will perform a network discovery with multicast to get the IP address. This ensures that devices connected by USB will be accessible by the same method as devices connected via 1GbE.

Using the MATLAB, LabVIEW APIs

There are two possibilities to install the MATLAB and LabVIEW APIs on a PC. The first option is to install the main LabOne package which includes these APIs. This is a good option if you would also like to run the Data Server on this PC as described in Running LabOne on a Separate PC. Installation of the main LabOne package is described in software installation. The second option is to install only the required API package. Please refer to the LabOne Programming Manual for details on installing and using the MATLAB and LabVIEW APIs.

Using the Python API

To use the Python API, the separate Zurich Instruments LabOne Python package needs to be installed. Please refer to the LabOne Programming Manual for details on installing and getting started with the LabOne Python API.

Using the .NET and C APIs

To use the .NET and C APIs, the main LabOne package needs to be installed which includes these APIs along with those for MATLAB and LabVIEW. Installation of the main LabOne package is described in Software Installation.